1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image recording apparatus for recording an image on an image recording medium which generates gas, dust and the like through a thermal reaction.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image recording apparatus using an image recording medium which generates gas and the like through a thermal reaction, the gas and the like could adhere to an objective lens of a recording head, for example, and fog surfaces of the objective lens, thereby lowering the quality of a recorded image. It has therefore been conventional practice to produce an airflow that intersects laser light emitted from the recording head, for diffusing the gas and the like and preventing the gas and the like from adhering to the objective lens of the recording head.
In recent years, a technique has begun to be in practical use which forms a letterpress image directly on an image recording medium called flexo-digital plate by using CTP (computer-to-plate). When such a letterpress medium is irradiated with laser light, a larger quantity of gas and dust (which may hereinafter be collectively called gas in this specification) generates therefrom than from a conventional image recording medium. This results in a problem that the gas remaining uncollected by a gas suction mechanism re-adheres to and contaminates the surface of the image recording medium.